Every year for the past nine years now, as a sort of ritual, I visit botanical collections and parks in the autumn. Living in Belgium, I started with the outstanding collections of the National Botanical Garden of Belgium in Meise, Philippe de Spoelberch's Herkenrode garden, Bokrijk Arboretum and Kalmthout Arboretum . The Sir Harold Hillier Gardens and Arboretum, Sheffield Park and the RBGE in the UK followed the years after and so did the Arnold Arboretum, Boston USA, in October 2004. The final goal is to put together an Atlas of Colours and Shapes of Autumn Leaves. Two hundred and forty two specimen trees have been documented so far.